In China,  the applicant can repeat register the same or similar trademark on the same or similar goods or services, unless there are a large number of trademark applications that clearly exceed a reasonable business scope and are suspected of malicious application without intention to use (in violation of Article 4 of China Trademark Law). However, we often encounter a type of trademark refusal where the applicant finds in the refusal notification that their own prior identical or similar trademark, for which they applied, is preventing the registration of their later applied trademark. The reason for this is that the applicant has changed their name or address based on business needs. The re-submitted trademark application uses a new name or address, but the applicant did not promptly make changes to the trademarks registered under the old name or address with the National Intellectual Property Administration, PRC (“CNIPA”). Therefore, the trademarks applied for before and after will be considered as filed by different entities, leading to the situation where the prior trademark blocks the later trademark.

    In this situation, trademark applicants can overcome the refusal by changing the name and address information through record filing, and then addressing the rejection in the review of refusal stage. It is evident that in order to save time and costs, and avoid such refusal situations, it is crucial to promptly update any changes in the name and address with the CNIPA.

    If the applicant's trademark application does not have this issue, is it still necessary to make changes? The answer is still yes, because:

    - Article 41 of the Trademark Law states that "where the name or address of registrant or any other registered matter of a registered trademark needs to be changed, an application for changes shall be filed."

    - Article 49 of the Trademark Law states that "where, in using a registered trademark, the trademark registrant changes the registered trademark, the name or address of the registrant, or any other registered matter without approval, the local administration for market regulation shall order the registrant to make correction within a prescribed time limit; and if the registrant fails to do so within the time limit, the CNIPA shall cancel the registered trademark."

    - Article 17 of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China states that "if the applicant changes its name, address, agent, recipient of documents, or deletes designated goods, it shall handle the change procedures with the CNIPA."

    - Article 3 of the General Standards for Judging Trademark Violations states that violation of Article 49, paragraph 1 of the Trademark Law, where the trademark registrant changes the registered trademark, the registrant's name, address, or other items during the use of the registered trademark, constitutes a general trademark violation.

    Especially for trademark owners in mainland China, failure to promptly file changes can have the following impacts:

    1. Inability to timely receive official notices/decisions related to trademarks from the CNIPA can lead to the risk of the trademark being cancelled or declared invalid. For instance, if someone files non-use cancellation or invalidation against a registered trademark, the CNIPA will send relevant notices directly to the contact address registered in the trademark application. If the rights holder fails to receive the notice in time, they may lose the opportunity to defend or submit evidence. In the worst case scenario, the registered trademark may be cancelled or declared invalid due to a failure to respond promptly.

    2. Impact on the commercial use of the trademark can occur when the rights holder intends to use the trademark for commercial purposes, such as entering shopping malls or opening stores on various e-commerce platforms. If the information of the rights holder does not align with the registered trademark information, it may impact the review process of the mall and platform, potentially delaying entry until the information is rectified.

    3. Failure to file changes in a timely manner may involve general trademark violations.

    Following the requirements of laws and regulations, carefully and timely recording the changes is the most economically effective way to solve problems and avoid new ones. It is worth noting that while applicants files applications to record names and addresses changes for national marks registered in China, they should also file such application for the international registrations with WIPO, and timely make changes to overseas trademarks according to the laws and regulations of various countries and regions, in order to avoid situations where they have solved the "internal troubles" but still have the "external troubles."